NEW YORK CMC:
THE AMERICAN Foundation of the University of the West Indies (UWI) will next month bestow special honours on an American television host, a top banking executive and a Brazilian minister.
The awards will be conferred at the foundation's ninth annual 'The Legacy Continues' awards ball in Manhattan.
Al Roker, the host of NBC television's Today show; William Rhodes, chairman and chief executive officer of New York's Citibank; and Gilberto Gil, Brazil's Minister of Culture will be honoured at the black tie, fund-raising affair, at Cipriani's, on February 2.
Gil has been singled out to receive the inaugural University of the West Indies Bob Marley Award for his outstanding achievements in arts and culture.
The foundation will also laud former UWI Chancellor Sir Shridath Ramphal and former Vice Chancellors of the university, Sir Alister McIntyre and Professor Rex Nettleford, for their work.
In addition, a host of prominent public and business figures will be cited as UWI 'builders', and some will receive the Vice Chancellor's award, including Laurine Fenton, the Montserrat-born, former Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) High Commissioner to Canada.
KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE
"The gala gives us an exciting opportunity to recognise public figures who have made a difference in the lives of people everywhere," said Harry Belafonte, renowned entertainer, civil rights activist and UNICEF children advocate, who is the gala's honorary patron.
"The UWI and the American Foundation are in the forefront of efforts to keep the dream of universal education alive throughout the Caribbean," he added, "and the awards are our way of recognising the work of people from different walks of life to that noble goal."
The American Foundation, which has raised millions of dollars for UWI, is the university's primary vehicle in its capital campaign in the United States.
